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Monday, February 7, 2011

Pucker Up!

Dear Husband wanted some treats to take to work. You know what that means, right? Yes, BAKING!!! Arggghhhh (creepy horror movie music playing in the background). I could not fall back on the seven-layer magic bars, either this time...because I had no graham cracker crumbs, or graham crackers to turn into crumbs. Oh crumbs.....but, wait a moment, I had lemons! Lots of lemons, that I used for my cobalt-blue-and-lemon-yellow themed kitchen in my most recent video. Go here to view that particular video, if you dare.

Anyhoo, lemon bars are what the big treat was going to be. I found what looked like an easy recipe for it..and began. First, one must make the shortbread crust that is underneath the lemony filling. Get your ingredients organized, as per usual....

I began by creaming butter and sugar until light and fluffy...remember, the butter is now at room temperature. I was rather surprised to see that confectionery sugar was called for...but I dutifully followed the recipe.

When a recipe calls for you to cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, this is what it should look like at the "light and fluffy" stage...

Then, flour and salt were added, and the mixture blended just until it became a dough....like this..

Then, you press this shortbread crust into a large baking pan. I doubled the recipe, knowing that this is a workplace treat, and there are potentially more than say, four people who would like some!

You bake this crust for twenty minutes, and allow to cool while you make the filling.....and when a recipe tells you to cool something on a wire rack...do it! The results will be worth it...

OK, since that part was done...it was time to make the lemon-a-licious filling. Keep in mind, that at this point, I have cleaned the bowl of my mixer, and the paddle, and made sure it was spotless before the addition of sugar and eggs, which looked like this..

You beat this mixture until smooth, which if you are not a baker, when you have achieved "smooth", this is what it looks like....

Now it was time to get some real lemony flavor into the custard mixture...by getting out the box grater, and the lemons...time to get zesting!

Once I had enough (two tablespoons) of the zest...it was time to get out my little citrus reamer, and get all their juice, too...

The zest and juice, along with two tablespoons of flour, were added to the mixer...

The whole shebang was mixed again until smooth, poured on top of the shortbread crust, baked for another twenty minutes, and allowed to cool...this is what it looked like before it went into the 350 degree oven.

I take it quite seriously when a recipe says to "cool completely", especially in the case of anything that one is going to cut into bars. Impatience at this step will only get you a dessert item that will not be in bars, and will come out a mushy mess. So, I cleaned the kitchen, and asked Kitchen Angel if she liked lemon-flavored desserts....I think that's a YES!

How did they come out? Well, have a look....

The shortbread crust was buttery and tender, the lemon filling was very lemony indeed, and I will be making this again!

What is your favorite bar-type dessert? Is it easy to make?

Eat well, my friends....and stay tuned for the re-creation of the infamous Cheesy Mac and Rib! Love and kindness to all,

Who is Pixie?

Allison is a former actress, singer and dancer. Chef at Buffallo Wild Wings, Master Baker at Brueggers' Bagels, Head Baker at Chesapeake Pub, and personal chef. Please inquire about catering and personal chef services if you live in the greater Nashville area